Miss Universe 1979

Miss Universe 1979
Date 20 July 1979
Presenters Bob Barker, Helen O'Connell and Jayne Kennedy
Entertainment Donny Osmond
Venue Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia
Broadcaster CBS
Entrants 75
Placements 12
Debuts Bophuthatswana, Fiji, Transkei
Withdraws Bonaire, Curaçao, Lebanon, Lesotho, New Hebrides, Nicaragua, Samoa
Returns Antigua, British Virgin Islands, St Kitts & Nevis, Portugal
Winner Maritza Sayalero
 Venezuela
Congeniality Yurika Kuroda
 Japan
Best National Costume Elizabeth Busti
 Uruguay
Photogenic Carolyn Seaward
 England
Countries and territories which sent delegates and results.

Miss Universe 1979, the 28th Miss Universe pageant was held at Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia on 20 July 1979. 18-year-old Maritza Sayalero earned Venezuela's first Miss Universe crown. She was crowned by Margaret Gardiner of South Africa. Seventy-five contestants competed in this year.

NOTE: For the first time in the history of international beauty pageants, the stage where the throne sat, collapsed after the girls flocked to hug and kiss the winner. That part of the stage could NOT handle the crush of the bodies. Fortunately, the TV cameras had already been turned off but there were a number of still photographers from the press still around.

Results

Placements

Final ResultsContestant
Miss Universe 1979
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
  •  Brazil - Martha Jussara da Costa
4th runner-up
  •  Sweden - Annette Marie Ekström
Top 12

Semifinal Scores

Country Preliminary Average Interview Swimsuit Evening Gown Semifinal Average
 Venezuela 8.461 (1) 9.362 (1) 9.135 (1) 9.416 (1) 9.305 (1)
 Bermuda 7.578 (9) 8.872 (2) 9.027 (2) 9.100 (2) 9.000 (2)
 England 8.227 (2) 8.671 (3) 8.591 (4) 8.936 (3) 8.733 (3)
 Brazil 7.715 (5) 8.509 (4) 8.764 (3) 8.818 (4) 8.697 (4)
 Sweden 7.800 (4) 8.300 (5) 8.127 (7) 8.409 (6) 8.279 (5)
 South Africa 8.103 (3) 7.918 (10) 8.330 (5) 8.454 (5) 8.234 (6)
 Belize 7.654 (7) 8.118 (7) 8.279 (6) 8.118 (10) 8.172 (7)
 USA 7.676 (6) 8.100 (8) 7.709 (12) 8.335 (7) 8.048 (8)
 Germany 7.542 (10) 8.125 (6) 7.882 (10) 8.118 (10) 8.042 (9)
 Scotland 7.609 (8) 7.764 (11) 8.118 (8) 8.218 (8) 8.033 (10)
 Argentina 7.515 (11) 8.009 (9) 8.045 (9) 8.021 (12) 8.025 (11)
 Wales 7.345 (12) 7.380 (12) 7.818 (11) 8.150 (9) 7.783 (12)
     Winner
     First Runner-up
     Second Runner-up
     Third Runner-up
     Fourth Runner-up
     Top 12 Semifinalist
(#) Rank in each round of competition

Special Awards

Award Contestant
Best National Costume
Miss Congeniality
Miss Photogenic

Order of announcements

Top 12

  1. Wales
  2. Bermuda
  3. Brazil
  4. South Africa
  5. USA
  6. Belize
  7. Argentina
  8. England
  9. Germany
  10. Scotland
  11. Venezuela
  12. Sweden

Top 5

  1. Venezuela
  2. Sweden
  3. Bermuda
  4. England
  5. Brazil

Contestants

Preliminary Swimsuit Scores

  • 8.673 Venezuela
  • 8.382 England
  • 8.218 South Africa
  • 7.936 Belize
  • 7.899 Sweden
  • 7.791 Wales
  • 7.773 Brazil
  • 7.600 Uruguay
  • 7.591 Singapore
  • 7.582 Austria
  • 7.564 Scotland
  • 7.536 Germany
  • 7.491 Holland
  • 7.455 Portugal
  • 7.445 Bermuda
  • 7.418 Réunion
  • 7.418 Spain
  • 7.409 Peru
  • 7.400 Switzerland
  • 7.373 USA
  • 7.173 France
  • 7.141 Hong Kong
  • 7.127 Australia
  • 7.127 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • 7.077 Finland
  • 6.991 Denmark
  • 6.945 Colombia
  • 6.936 Argentina
  • 6.873 Costa Rica
  • 6.845 Mexico
  • 6.818 Canada
  • 6.809 Bophuthatswana
  • 6.800 Japan
  • 6.736 Dominican Republic
  • 6.727 New Zealand
  • 6.718 Ireland
  • 6.718 Sri Lanka
  • 6.655 Malta
  • 6.636 Norway
  • 6.627 Chile
  • 6.563 Trinidad & Tobago
  • 6.555 Barbados
  • 6.545 Israel
  • 6.545 Puerto Rico
  • 6.536 Honduras
  • 6.518 Malaysia
  • 6.473 Surinam
  • 6.439 Korea
  • 6.427 Philippines
  • 6.409 Guatemala
  • 6.309 Turkey
  • 6.291 Thailand
  • 6.286 Paraguay
  • 6.209 Belgium
  • 6.155 Bolivia
  • 6.127 Greece
  • 6.118 Iceland
  • 6.109 Guam
  • 6.091 El Salvador
  • 6.082 India
  • 6.068 Italy
  • 6.064 Aruba
  • 5.982 Bahamas
  • 5.882 Tahiti
  • 5.791 Ecuador
  • 5.727 Panama
  • 5.727 US Virgin Islands
  • 5.641 Northern Mariana Islands
  • 5.591 Transkei
  • 5.582 Antigua and Barbuda
  • 5.582 Fiji
  • 5.545 Mauritius
  • 5.364 British Virgin Islands
  • 5.355 Papua New Guinea

Panel of Judges

Host city

On March 9, 1978, it was confirmed that the panel of ten applicant countries for the 1979 pageant are  Guam,  Singapore,  Belize,  Cambodia,  Western Australia,  Solomon Islands,  Canada,  Venezuela,  Mexico and  Fiji. On September 9, 1978, it was confirmed that  Cambodia,  Western Australia and  Fiji were confirmed as the candidate countries for the 1979 pageant. On January 10, 1979, it was announced that  Cambodia would host the 1979 pageant. On March 31, 1979, it was announced that  Cambodia had withdrawn as host, making  Western Australia the new host of the 1979 pageant.

External links